One-two for Monster Energy Honda Team in the second stage

This report is in the following languages:

The Monster Energy Honda Team riders turned out a fine performance today in the dunes of Liwa. Cornejo and Barreda finished first and second on the day, while Benavides gained a notable starting position for tomorrow.

The heat and wind were once again the key climatic elements of stage two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The 222 kilometres of special timed stage proved to be a physical test for the riders once more. Yet in spite of the soft dunes and scorching temperatures on the course, riders finished the day reporting back good sensations.

José Ignacio Cornejo set off at a swift pace today, catching the two riders ahead before finishing amongst the front-runners at the end of the special. The Chilean rider pulled off an important stage victory, his second in the World Championship. ‘Nacho’ now lies in second in the general standings, less than a minute behind the leader.

Barreda was today able to resume the race after yesterday’s mechanical hitch. The Spanish rider was surprised to arrive at refuelling with the best provisional time. He would have been the best on the day too had it not been for a fall in the second part of the special which saw the rider drop precious seconds. He did, however, finish the stage in second place behind his team-mate.

Meanwhile, Kevin Benavides also suffered the severity of this second stage, where a fall forced the Argentine to take the final kilometres at a more cautious pace. Tomorrow he starts out from eighth position and will be looking to pull back some of the time lost today.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, sees the third stage, the rally’s halfway point, which will feature the longest special stage that riders will have to face. This will include almost 300 kilometres against the clock, out of a total of 434 before the day is through.

Kevin Benavides

STAGE: 8thOVERALL: 5th

The stage was practically like yesterday, very windy and very soft dunes and was quite a difficult ride. I was doing fine until kilometre 100 where I had a fall - nothing spectacular - but I fell on my right side, which I hurt and I began to feel a lot of pain. From then on, I just tried to make it to the end of the special, easing up the pace.

Joan Barreda

STAGE: 2ndOVERALL: 21st

I was feeling pretty good. It was an important, yet tough day for me. In the earlier part I didn’t feel so confident, but things improved and I was able to reach a good race pace. Pity about the final part, where I got stuck in a dune and my ribs were hurting. I decided to slow down a bit to make it safely to the finish-line. Anyway, I am pleased with how I led the day in spite of the difficulties.

José Ignacio Cornejo

STAGE: 1stOVERALL: 2nd

Today I improved the pace with the bike in the dunes, I went a lot faster and I pulled back a bit of time before the refuelling. In the second part I was pushing harder and I was able to catch up with the front-runners. Furthermore, I won the stage, so I am very happy, and the intention from now on is to continue along the same track and try to hold onto the second position in the general standings.

2019 Cross-Country RalliesMonday, April 1st 2019

Stage
Round WORLD1
, Stage 2 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2019Abu Dhabi

Stage 2 provisional results

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Cornejo José Ignacio

CHI

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

3:13'21

2

Barreda Joan

SPA

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

+1'43

3

Short Andrew

USA

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Husqvarna

+2'58

4

Benavides Luciano

ARG

KTM Factory Racing Team

KTM

+3'30

5

Sunderland Sam

GBR

Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team

KTM

+5'55

6

Meshari Jaffar Mohammed

KWT

Team Jaffar

KTM

+10'17

7

Mare Aaron

RSA

Honda Racing

Honda

+11'36

8

Benavides Kevin

ARG

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

+11'48

9

Blair Ryan

GBR

SRG Motorsports

Husqvarna

+12'09

10

Ackerman Mark

RSA

SRG Motorsports

Husqvarna

+13'16

2019 Cross-Country RalliesMonday, April 1st 2019

Stage
Round WORLD1
, Stage 2 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2019Abu Dhabi

Provisional standings after Stage 2

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Sunderland Sam

GBR

Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team

KTM

6:59'57

2

Cornejo José Ignacio

CHI

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

+0'51

3

Short Andrew

USA

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Husqvarna

+3'12

4

Benavides Luciano

ARG

KTM Factory Racing Team

KTM

+6'42

5

Benavides Kevin

ARG

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

+20'20

6

Ackerman Mark

RSA

SRG Motorsports

Husqvarna

+47'52

7

Blair Ryan

GBR

SRG Motorsports

Husqvarna

+48'03

8

Al Balooshi Mohammed

UAE

Balooshi Racing KTM UAE

KTM

+59'05

9

Meshari Jaffar Mohammed

KWT

Team Jaffar

KTM

+1:08'37

10

McBride David

GBR

Vendetta Racing UAE

KTM

+1:39'19

21

Barreda Joan

SPA

Monster Energy Honda Team

Honda

+32:55'07

Gallery

Images are copyright but free for editorial use.

Location Information

The erstwhile UAE Desert Challenge, one of the world’s most prestigious international cross country rallies, entered a new era in March 2009 when it was renamed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with the five-day motor sport spectacular being staged in its entirety across Abu Dhabi emirate under the auspices of the Abu… read more.

Records

Location Information

The erstwhile UAE Desert Challenge, one of the world’s most prestigious international cross country rallies, entered a new era in March 2009 when it was renamed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with the five-day motor sport spectacular being staged in its entirety across Abu Dhabi emirate under the auspices of the Abu… read more.